Slide Show: Security Gets Graphic
Notice that security companies have started producing a lot of infographics? We sure have. Here's a selection
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Security companies used to have the worst presentation graphics. Engineers creating PowerPoint presentation using clip art never made for captivating artwork.
Times have changed. Now firms have found that publishers and bloggers want art and have started producing slick graphics to accompany data-heavy news or, in some cases, advice posters. The industry ramped up their production of graphics just before this year's RSA Security Conference.
Here's a sampling of the beautified world of security:
Kicking off the deluge of data-oriented graphics, McAfee released a somewhat crowded chart compiling various statistics regarding lost phones. At Oktoberfest in Munich in 2010, for example, mobile phones were the second most-lost item, right behind wallets.
The artwork shows the security industry on the cusp of moving from the clip art graphics of the past.
In many cases, slick graphics do not clarify the important trends in data but try to make poorly chosen comparisons. For example, in this slick piece of art, wireless- and mobile-security firm Mocana attempts to argue that mobile phones are where PCs were in 1995, on the verge of being widely attacked. Yet PCs and mobile platforms have different values to attackers. While the number of mobile devices have skyrocketed, they are more difficult to attack and those attacks more difficult to monetize.
Gemalto, a device management and security firm, used a modern look to show that online users are increasingly banking online and using multiple channels -- such as a laptop, mobile phone, and tablet -- to access banking services. About 30 percent of adults use multiple channels on a monthly basis, and about 12 percent regularly use mobile phones to access their banks.
Russian antivirus firm Kaspersky Labs has put its entire collection of infographics online. From "How much do you cost?" to "Macs are no longer safe from malware," Kaspersky has readily embraced infographics. While some of the graphics use the company's standard green-and-red color scheme, overall it's a diverse collection of styles.
With a nod to workplace posters, Trend Micro uses the analogy of a city neighbor to highlight thumbnail profiles of Internet bad guys, including spammers, malvertisers, fake antivirus creators, and phishers. The bad guys are given the super villain treatment, complete with famous lines. "OMG. This is so FUNNY!!" says the Social Media Scammer.
Data at the bottom of the graphic highlights the values of users' information, including $1 to $3 for valid credit-card numbers and $8 for the credentials to 2,500 Gmail accounts.
Internet security service Incapsula used a three-dimensional pie chart and bad-guy clip art to categorize the traffic reaching the average website. About half of all traffic is machine-generated and not reported by Google Analytics, the company maintains. In total, 31 percent of the traffic that a company website may see is potentially harmful to the business and even criminal.
Who doesn't like Anonymous graphics? Iconic images, Guy Fawkes masks, and empty corporate suits make for good presentation. Imperva used the full complement of graphics in its illustration charting the life cycle of an Anonymous operation, from recruiting and initial communication to the eventual distributed denial-of-service attack using the hacktivists' weapon of choice, the Low Orbital Ion Cannon (LOIC).
The biggest threat to mobile phones is that the user tends to leave them behind. Using an illustration with an antiqued color selection reminiscent of a trendy cafe menu, data protection firm Credant highlighted the danger. Out of 2,613 devices left at surveyed hotels, more than 80 percent were smartphones, the company found. On average, 45 out of every 100 devices were never claimed.
Using a clean blue, red, and white look, security firm GFI presented a snapshot of the current spam problem. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of respondent thought they got too much spam at work. Nearly 30 percent of companies considered the threat of malware-ladened spam as their greatest concern. No wonder: Some 44 percent of companies had an IT breached caused by just such an attack.
Ever wonder how a popular open-source content management system roots out bugs and patches vulnerabilities? The folks behind the Drupal Security Report and Mogdesign created a slick graphic that takes a nod from the game of Life -- the Milton Bradley board game, not the simple simulation of digital organisms. Drupal posts an active development community of 15,000 programmers and more than 700,000 users, according to the graphic. The security team is always on call to assess vulnerabilities and fix issues.
Ever wonder how a popular open-source content management system roots out bugs and patches vulnerabilities? The folks behind the Drupal Security Report and Mogdesign created a slick graphic that takes a nod from the game of Life -- the Milton Bradley board game, not the simple simulation of digital organisms. Drupal posts an active development community of 15,000 programmers and more than 700,000 users, according to the graphic. The security team is always on call to assess vulnerabilities and fix issues.
Security companies used to have the worst presentation graphics. Engineers creating PowerPoint presentation using clip art never made for captivating artwork.
Times have changed. Now firms have found that publishers and bloggers want art and have started producing slick graphics to accompany data-heavy news or, in some cases, advice posters. The industry ramped up their production of graphics just before this year's RSA Security Conference.
Here's a sampling of the beautified world of security:
Kicking off the deluge of data-oriented graphics, McAfee released a somewhat crowded chart compiling various statistics regarding lost phones. At Oktoberfest in Munich in 2010, for example, mobile phones were the second most-lost item, right behind wallets.
The artwork shows the security industry on the cusp of moving from the clip art graphics of the past.
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